Means for operating upon hides, skins, and leather



july 3% "1935 J. H. CONNOR MEANS FOR OPERATING UPON HIDES, SKINS ANDHEATHER Filed June 24, 1935 2 Sheets-Sheet l V mm J. H. CONNOR 2,009,475

MEANS FOR OPERATING UPON HIDES, SKINS AND LEATHER July 30, 1935.

Filed June 24, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented July 30, 1935 r v UNITEDSTATES PATENT orrlcs MEANS FOR OPERATING UPON HIDES, SKINS, AND LEATHERJohn H. Connor, Newton, Mass, assignor to The Tanning Process Company,Boston, Mass a corporation of Massachusetts r Application June 24, 1933,Serial No. 677,357

28 Claims. (Cl. 149-16) This invention relates to means for operatingchine in the line of machines provided for operatupon hides, skins,leather and other similar ing upon hides and skins. As illustrated, thepieces of work. While the invention is illuswork receiving means orstacker is embodied in a trated as embodied in a machine for performingmachine designed to operate upon pieces of'work putting-out operationsupon hides and skins it as the latter move away from the operator during6 is to be understood that the invention and vamachine treatmentthereof, and comprises a car rious important features thereof may haveother rier movable in timed relation to a work support applications anduses. which operates between a work receiving posi It is an object ofthe invention to improve tantion and a work presenting position withrespect 10 nery machines of the type wherein substantially to a worktreating tool, the said carrier having 10 one-half of a given piece'ofwork is operated upon a crossbar operated to receive each treated pieceduring a cycle of the machine after which the of Work from the worksupport and hold it sus- Work is reversed in position and reintroducedto pended in such position that it may be most secure treatment of theother half ofthe piece of readily picked up by the operator for reintro-5' work. Another object is to expedite handling of duction into the sameor a similar machine. the pieces of work so that the operator may bePreferably and as illustrated, a feeding-in tadelayed as little aspossible in presenting sucble of special construction is provided tofacilicessive pieces of work to the machine, it being tate properpositioning of the work by the 0pclear that the productive capacity of amachine is erator for treatment by the machine, said table determined inpart by the length of the intertending also to maintain properpositioning of the 20 vals between introductions of pieces of work, thework as the latter is fed thereo-ver. These feashorter such intervals onthe average the great tures of construction furnish additionalreasons erthe output. It is a further object of the inwhy it is possible for theoperator to keep the vention to make provision for assisting theopmachine constantly working at capacity.

erator in positioning the work in such manner The above-mentioned andother important 25 that effort to this end, on the part of theopfeatures of the'invention and novel combinations erator, issubstantially reduced. of parts will now be described in detail in theTo these ends and in accordance with an imspecification and then pointedout more particuportant feature of the invention, there is providedlarly in the appended claims.

in the illustrated machine means for receiving In the drawings, g 30each piece of work as it is being operated upon Fig. 1 is a view in sideelevation and partly in and holding it in such condition that it maysubsection of a putting-out machine illustrating one sequently bereadily picked up by the operator embodiment of the invention;

for introduction into the same or another simi- 'Fig. 2 is a similarview showing the work suplar machine for completion of treatment of theport in work receiving position; 7

work pieces. By this means the work of the op- Fig. 3 is a section takenalong the line III- II I erator is facilitated and he is relieved of theof Fig.2; and

necessity of waitingfor the machine to operate Fig. 4 is a sectionalview taken along the line upon a piece of work introduced therein, sinceIVIV of Fig.2. I H i 40 the work-receiving means takes care of the workIn the illustrated machine, which is specially 40 coming from themachine. Hence, .he may designed to perform putting-out operations uponpromptly turn his attention to the introduction hides and skins, thereis provided a worksupof a fresh piece of work and thus secure pracportcomprisingabed roll I0,afeeding-in table I2, tically continuousoperation of the machine up and a delivery table I4, the tables I2 and Mbeto its full capacity. The receiving and holding ing rotatablycarriedupon shaft I6 of the bed 5 means referred to may conveniently beutilized as roll I0, and swing arm I8' being provided with a stacker,whereby a suitable number of pieces journal bearings to'supportrotatably the shaft may be allowed to accumulate upon the work I6. Tohold the tables I2 and I4, which are receiving means before they areremoved for fastened together, at the desired angle while inintroduction a second time into the same or a work receiving and workpresenting positions, similar machine to complete treatment of each thetable I2 is fitted with projections or brackets, piece. 7 Alternatively,the completely treated one of which is shown at I9 provided with a studpieces or work may be allowed to accumulate on 2| slidably engaged in aslot 23 in theadjacent the receiving means serving as a stacker beforeend frameof the-machine. As the work support removing them for treatmentby another. ma moves upwardly-and downwardly'the position of 55 thetables I2, I4 is controlled by said slot to maintain the table always atthe same inclination to the horizontal. Preferably and as shown theshaft I6 has its journal supports in blocks one of which is shown at 20in Fig. 1, each block 28 being backed by a spring 22 interposed betweenthe block 20 and an abutment 24 rigidly secured to the swing arm I8. Bythus mounting the shaft I6 in spring pressed blocks 20 the bed roll I0may yield relatively to a work treating tool.

In the illustrated construction the worktreating tool is a bladedcylinder 26 especially constructed to perform putting-out operationsupon hides and skins. It is to be understood, however, that the bladedcylinder 26 is removably mounted in the frame of the machine so that itmay be removed and replaced by any one of several bladed cylinders theblades of which are adapted to perform such operations as fleshing andunhairing. The shaft of the cylinder 26 is mounted in journals providedin the frame of the machine and is driven continuously by power means,not shown. To prevent water or other waste material from being spatteredon the operator, the cylinder 26 is protected by a guard 21.

For co-operating with the bed roll I O in feeding the work there isprovided a feed roll 30 mounted upon a shaft, 32 carried by blocks oneof which is shownat 34 in Fig. 1, each block being backed by a spring,36 so that it may be moved upwardly along a guideway 38 provided in theframe of the machine. Bythis construction thefeed roll 30 is adaptedyieldingly to accommodate itself to variations in thickness of the workpassing over the bed roll I0. For driving the feed roll 30 there isprovided a sprocket wheel 40 about which passes a chain 42, the latterbeing engaged also with a sprocket 44 fixedly secured to a shaft 46arranged to be driven continuously while the machine is in operation-bypower means (not shown). It follows that the feed roll 30 is also drivencontinuously while the machine is in operation. Conveniently the shaft32 of the feed roll 30 is provided with a long toothed gear. 48 arrangedto mesh with a. similar gear 58 secured to the shaft I6 of the bed rollID, the arrangement being such that thetwo gears 48 and 5!! becomemeshed with each other when the bed roll Ill moves to work presentingposition with respect to the feed roll 30 and the bladed cylinder 26. Inother words, the bed roll I0 is driven from the feed roll 30 when thebed roll moves into co-operative relation with respect to the bed ,roll30 and the bladed cylinder 26, the bed roll IE3 being disconnected fromthe driving means as'it moves away from work presentingposition towardthe work receiving position shown in Fig. 2.

As before stated the bed roll I0 is mounted in swing arms I8 which arepivotally mounted at 54 in the frame of the machine so that the swingarms I8 may be rocked to carry the work support alternately between workreceiving and work presenting positions. For thus rocking the swing armsI8 there is provided a pair of pitmen one of which is shown at 56 inFig. 1 of the drawings, the said pitman 56 being pivoted to the swingarm I8 at 58 and carrying a pair of cam" rollers 60, 62, the cam rollers60, 62 being movable in a vertical slotf64 (Fig. 2) in the adjacent endframe of the machine with the rollers 60, 62 engaging opposite points ona cam 66 rigidly secured to a cam shaft 68 which also carries securedthereto a large gear wheel 10 having teeth arranged constantly in meshwith the teeth of a pinion 12 rotatably mounted on the shaft 46. t

When the pinion I2 is clutched to the continuously rotating power shaft45, the large gear wheel ID is rotated in the direction of the arrow tocause reciprocation of the pitmen 56 to effect movement of the worksupport alternately between work receiving and work presentingpositions, the work support being retained in its said positions bymeans under the control of the operator as will be subsequentlyexplained herein.

A hide or skin introduced into the illustrated machine is operated uponthroughout substantially one-half of its area after which it must bereintroduced into the machine to complete the treatment upon theremaining half. To facilitate the work of the operator there is provideda work receiving means which receives the work from the work support andholds it in a position such that the operator may readily lift it intoposition for a succeeding operation. This work receiving and holdingmeans comprises, as shown, a, rod or crossbarBlI 'of a lengthsubstantially greater than the length of the largest hide or skin whichthe machine is adapted to operate upon. This rod or crossbar 89 issupported at its opposite ends by carrier chains one of which is shownat 82, supported upon a toothed wheel 84 rigidly secured to a shaft 36,the said chain 82 being also engaged with smaller toothed wheels 88 andmounted upon shafts '92 and 94, respectively, so positioned that thechain 82 is caused to travel with its upper run in a horizontal planewhereby a piece of work supported upon the rod or crossbar 83 is carriedtoward the rear of the machine in such position that it may be readilyremoved by the operator and furthermore in such position that it issuspended clear of the floor. C0nveniently the shaft is mounted inmovable blocks one of which is shown at 96, the arrangement being suchthat. the shaft 94 may be adjusted in such manner as to adjust properlythe tension of the carrier chains 82. Preferably the rod or crossbarflfiis detachably supported by the chains 62 so that it may be removed witha stack of skins thereon while an empty rod or crossbar is substitutedtherefor.

For driving the carrier chains 2 there is provided driving meanscomprising a, sprocket wheel I 06 keyed to the shaft 86. Around thesprocket wheel H35 there is passed a chain I02 which is also engagedwith a sprocket wheel I64 fixedly mounted upon a shaft I06 which hasfixedly secured thereto a pinion 08 in mesh with the pinion l2 rotatablymounted on the shaft 45. Hence, when the pinion I2 is clutched to theshaft 45 by a treadle operated clutch ID! the carrier chains 82 aremoved in timed relation to the movement of .the work support by theswing-arm operating cams 66 on the shaft 68. Upon depression. of thetreadle I09 the clutch! TI is caused to become operative. At the sametime a pin I I I on a spring-pressed lever H3 is moved out of a notchIE5 in a stop disk In, the arrangement being such that thepin I I I willdrop into another notch after one-half revolution of the shaft 58 andthus cause disconnection of the clutch. For a more detailed descriptionof the operation aclutch and stop disk of the type herein used referencemay be had to United States Letters Patent No. 873,790, granted December17, 1907 upon application of J. Rood and F. J. Perkins.

Preferably and as shown, a specially constructed feeding-in table isprovided to facilitate the work of the operator in properly positioninga piece of work upon the work support as a preliminary to reatmentthereof by the bladecl' cylinder 26.

Upon reference to Fig. 3 ofthe drawings itwill be seen that the worksupport I2 is convexly curved from end to end thereof so that a hide orskin thrown over the work support comprising the bed roll it and tablesl2 and M will rest in properly spread out condition upon the convexlycurved support i2, it being remembered in this connection that each hideor skin served as a covering to a'rounded, more 'or less barrel-shaped,animal body. It is for this reason that the hide or skin wi l conform toa convexly curved work support more closely than to a plane-surfacedwork support. Furthermore, each hide or skin has two shank portions oneach side of the backbone line, and these shank portions have a distincttendency to become folded while passing over the work support commonlyprovided with machines of the beamhouse type. By providing a convexlycurved work supporting surface upon the feeding-in table the shankmembers are caused to be supported at the proper angle to the backboneline of the skin, thus eliminating folds, which otherwisewould appear.While this positioning of the shank portions of the hide or skin is notentirely automatic, the convexly curved work support certainlyfacilitates the work of the operator in smoothing out the shank portionsof the skin in proper position for treatment by the bladed cylinder. Onthe other hand, the delivery table i4 may be of the usual flat surfacedtype since the work simply slides over this surface in moving toward threceiver or stacker comprising the bar 86 and the carrier chains 82.

In operating the illustrated machine, a piece of work such as a hide orskin i5 is thrown over the work support while the latter is in aposition shown in Fig. 2, reasonable care being taken to locate thebackbone line of the hide or skin substantially along the line I05 (Fig.2) that is, along a line parallel to the axis of the bed roll i0 and alittle forward of a line formed on the bed roll by projecting a planevertically through the axis of the shaft IS. The purpose of thuslocating the piece of work is to secure operation upon substantiallyone-half of the hide or skin at the first operation of the machine andso that the hide or skin may be properly supported upon the rod orcrossbar 89 with substantially one-half of the hide or skin in suspendedrelation on each side of said rod or crossbar, thus insuring that thehide or skin will not slip from the supporting rod or crossbar. Duringthe operation of the machine, the piece of work is fed away from thefront of the machine by the feed roll and during this feeding movementthe crossbar 8B is moved rearwardly at substantially the same rate or"movement with the result that when the crossbar 88 reaches the rear endof its upper horizontal path and stops at or about the point H2 (F 1)the treated portion of the work will drop from the delivery table I4,thus leaving the hide.

or skin entirely supported by the crossbar 80. If the treated portion ofthe work is still being operated upon when the crossbar 80 reaches thepoint 552 in Fig. 1, the feedroll 3B and the bed roll l0 continue tofeed the work past the bladed cylinder 26 until treatment of that halfof the work is completed, whereupon it drops from the delivery table itand quickly reaches a suspended relation with respect to the crossbar89. While the work support is-returning to work receiving position shownin Fig. 2, the carrier chains 82 are traveling to bring the rod orcrossbar 8% to the position shown in Fig. 2. These movements of the worksupport and carrier are initiated by depression of the treadle I09operating through-the clutch ID! by which the pinion 12 becomes securedfor rotation with the shaft 46. At the end of a half revolution of theshaft 68 the clutch is disconnected (by pin Ill falling into one of thenotches H5 in the disk I I?) leaving the work support stationary in itsworkreceiving position and the carrier der 26, movement of the carrierchains 82 also taking place so as to bring the rod or crossbar 8E! intoengaging relation upon the inside surface of the suspended portion ofthe hide or skin I I!) to the left in Fig. 2, that is, into the positionshown in Fig.1. The pinion I2 continues to rotate for a definite periodafter the work support reaches Work presenting position, the earns 66having concentric portions which hold the work support in workpresenting position during this period, the movement of the cam shaft 68being accompanied also by travel of the carrier chains 82 so that thehide or skin H0 is picked up by the rod or slat 89 and carried to adelivery position at the rear of its upper horizontal run. As thecrossbar reaches the point H2 (Fig. 1), the clutch I0! is again thrownout and the work support locked in its work presenting position due tothe operation of the stop pin HI and stop disk H1 mentioned above. Now,depression of the treadle causes return of the parts to the positionsshown in Fig. '2.

If a single machine of the kind shown in the drawings is utilized foroperations uponhides and skins, pieces of Work are allowed to accumulateupon the crossbar 80 operating as a stacker. 7

upon the portion which remained untreated after itsfirst trip throughthe machine. It is contemplated, however, that for the speediest Worktwo machines of the type shown in the drawings will be arranged in linewith each other, the operator of the second machine taking each piece ofwork in turn from the crossbar when itreaches the rear of the firstmachine. Since each piece of Work is supported with approximatelyone-half thereof suspended upon each side of the crossbar, the work isso positioned, as to be readily lifted by the operator of the secondmachine and, more over, is in such position that, when he turns from therear of the first machine to his own machine, the work is ready forintroduction into the second machine by throwing the treated portionover the delivery table i l-and with the untreated portion resting uponthe feeding-in table i2 In other words, the work'is so positioned uponthe crossbar 88 of the first machine that the operator of the secondmachine receives the work in such position that he does not need toreverse it in.

1. In a machine for operating upon hides; skins and pieces of leather, awork treating tool, a work support movable between work receivingposition and work presenting position with respect to said tool, andmeans to receive each piece of work as it is being operated upon and tohold it suspended with substantially half of the work on each side ofthe line of suspension.

2. In a machine for operating upon hides, skins and pieces of leather, awork treating tool, a work support movable between work receivingposition and work presenting position with respect to said tool, andmeans operated in timed relation to the movement of the worksupport toreceive each piece of work as it is being operated upon and to hold itsuspended with substantially half of the work on each side of the lineof suspension.

3. In a machine for operating upon hides, skins and pieces of leather, awork treating tool, a work support movable between work receivingposition work presenting'position with respect to said tool, and acarrier movable away from and toward the work support intimed relationto the movement of the latter to receive each piece of work from thework support and transport it away therefrom.

In a machine for operating upon hides, skins and pieces of leather, atool for treating the work, a work support movable between workreceiving position and work presenting position with respect to thetool, means to feed the work over the work support, and means comprisinga rod for receiving each piece of work as it is fed from the worksupport to support the work suspended substantially half on each side ofthe rod.

5. In a machine for operating upon hides, skins and pieces of leather, atool for treating the work, a work support movable between workreceiving position and work presenting position with respect to thetool, means to feed the work over the work support, and a carriermovable in dir ctions toward and from the work support and constructedand arranged to receive each piece of work in turn from the work supportand to support said piece of work suspended from a transverse medianportion thereof.

6. In a machine for operating upon hides, skins and pieces of leather, awork treating tool, a work support movable between work receivingposition and work presenting position with respect to said tool, andmeans operable as a stacker to receive each piece of work as it is beingoperated upon and to hold it suspended with substantially half of thework on each side of the line of suspension.

7. In a machine for operating upon hides, skins and pieces of leather, awork treating tool, a work support movable between work receivingosition and work presenting position with re- .pect to said tool, meansto feed the work over he work support, and a stacker movable in timedrelation to the movement of the work support to receive each piece ofwork as it is fed from the work support and support it'suspended withabout half of the work on each side of the line of suspension.

8. In a machine for operating upon hides, skins and pieces of leather, arotary cylinder for treating the work, a work support movable betweenwork receiving position and work presenting position with respect to thecylinder, means to feed the work over the work support, and a stackercomprising a rod movable alternately toward and from the work support toreeive each pieceof work as it is fed from the work support and tosupport the work suspended substantially half on each side of the rod.

9. In a machine for operating upon hides, skins and pieces of leather, arotary cylinder for treating the work, a work support movable betweenwork receiving position and work presenting position with respect to thecylinder, means to feed the work over the work support, and a stackercomprising a rod movable into position to receive each piece of work inturn from the work support and movable also in a horizontal plane awayfrom the work support to carry said piece of work to the rear of themachine.

10. In a machine for operating upon hides, skins and pieces of leather,a rotary cylinder for treating the work, a work support movable betweenwork receiving position and work presentin position with respect to thecylinder, means to feed the work over the work support, and a stackercomprising a rod arranged to move in an endless path to engage eachpiece of Work as the latter rests on the work support and to carry thework to the rear of the machine away from the work support.

11, In a machine for operating upon hides, skins pieces of leather, arotary cylinder for treating the work, a work support movable betweenwork receiving position and work presenting position with respect to thecylinder, means to feed the work over the work support, a stacker movabltoward the work support into position for receiving each piece of workfrom the work support as the work is'fed therefrom and away from thework support to carry the work to the rear of the machine, andinterconnected means for moving the stacker in timed relation to themovement of the work support to work present- Eng position with respectto said cylinder.

12. In a machine for operating upon hides, skins and pieces of leather,a rotary cylinder for treating the work, a work support movable betweenwork receiving position and work presenting position with respect to therotary cylinder, means for feeding the work over the Work support, and acarrier comprising a rod arranged to engage apiece of Work atapproximately a transverse median line thereof to support the worksuspended along said median line, said rod being movable to carry thepiece of work to the rear of the machine.

13. In a machine for operating upon hides, skins and pieces of leather,a rotary cylinder for treating the work, a work support movable betweenwork receiving position and work presenting position with respect to therotary cylinder, means for feeding the work over the work support, workreceiving means operated in timed relation to the movement of the worksupport to receive each piece of work from the work support as the workis fed therefrom and to support the work suspended along a transversemedian line thereof, and means to move the work receiving means in anendless path to receive the work and to carry it to the rear of themachine.

14. In a machine for operating upon hides, skins and pieces of leather,a rotary cylinder for operating on the work, a work support movablebetween work receiving position and work presenting position withrespect to said cylinder, a feed roll for co-operation with the worksupport in feeding the work past the cylinder, means to drive the feedroll continuously, means to move the Work support to work presentingposition with respect to the cylinder and the feed roll,

means to receive the work from the work support, and means to drive thework receiving means in timed relation to the movement of the worksupport to work presenting position.

15. In a machine for operating upon hides, skins and pieces of leather,a rotary cylinder for operating on the work, a work support movablebetween work receiving position and work presenting position withrespect to said cylinder, a feed roll for co-operation with the worksupport in feeding the work past the cylinder, means to drive the feedroll and the rotary cylinder continuously, means to move the worksupport to work presenting position with respect to the cylinder and thefeed roll and to hold it there, means comprising a rod for receiving apiece of work from the work support as it is being moved thereover bythe work feeding roll and being treated by said cylinder, andinterconnected means for driving the work receiving means and for movingthe work support whereby the rod of the work receiving means is alwaysin proper initial position to receive the work from the work support.

16. In a machine for operating upon hides, skins and pieces of leather,a rotary cylinder for treating the work, a work support movable betweenwork receiving position and work presenting position with respect to therotary cylinder, means to feed the piece of Work over the work supportin a direction away from the front of the machine, a carrier iocated atthe rear of the work support to receive a piece of work as it is fedfrom the work support, and means to move the work support to workreceiving position and to hold it there during treatment ofsubstantiallyhalf of the work, said work support moving means being alsoconnected to said carrier to drive the latter for a predetermined periodto cause the carrier to receive a portion of the piece of work beingoperated upon the work support and carry it rearwardly while the work isstill being treated upon the work support.

17. In a machine for operating upon hides, skins and pieces of leather,a rotary cylinder for operating on a piece of work, a work supportcomprising a bed roll movable to present a piece of work to thecylinder, a feed roll arranged to cooperate with the bed roll in feedingthe work, means comprising a cam for moving the work support to workpresenting position and maintaining it there during treatment of thework, means comprising a crossbar for receiving each piece of work fromthe work support and supporting it suspended from said crossbar,interconnected means for driving said cam and the work receiving meansin timed relation to each other, said interconnected means beingconstructed and arranged to stop with the work support supported by thecam in work presenting position, and means for driving the work feedingroll and the cylinder independently of said interconnected means wherebytreatment of the work may continue after interruption of the movement ofthe work support and the work receiving means.

18. In a machine for operating upon hides,

skins and pieces of leather, a rotary cylinder for operating on a pieceof work, a work support comprising a bed roll for presenting a piece ofwork to the cylinder, a feed roll arranged to cooperate with the bedroll to feed the work past the cylinder, means comprising a cam formoving the work support to work presenting position with respect to saidcylinder and for maintaining it there during treatment of the work, saidcam having a concentric portion operative to maintain the work sup-portin work presenting position, work receiving means comprising a crossbarfor receiving the piece of work from the work to complete the treatmentthereof While the work 7 support remains in work presenting position.

19. In a machine for operating upon hides, skins and pieces of leather,pivotally mounted work support mechanism comprising a bed roll, a

table mounted for movement with they bed roll,

means for moving the bed roll and table about a common axis alternatelybetween work receiving and work presenting positions with respect, to atool, and means for maintaining the table at the same inclination to thehorizontal while it is in work receiving and work presenting positions.20. In a machine for operating upon hides, skins and pieces of leather,work support mech anism comprising a bed roll, a table mounted forrocking movement about the axis of the bed roll, means for moving thebed roll and table alternately between work receiving and workpresenting positions with respect to a tool, and means for rocking thetable about the axis of thebed roll to maintain it at the sameinclination to the horizontal while it is being moved alternatelybetween work receiving and work presenting positions.

21. In a machine for operating upon hides, skins and pieces of leather,work support mechanism comprising a bed roll, a table mounted formovement with the bed roll, means for moving the bed roll and tablealternately between work receiving and work presenting positions withrespect to a tool, and means comprising a roller and slot one of whichis fixed with respect to the table for maintaining the table at theproper inclination while it is traveling alternately between workreceiving and Work presenting poalternately between work receiving andwork presenting positions with respect to a tool, an idler roll carriedby the table, and means comprising a fixed member having a slot for thereception of the idler roll whereby the table is controlled as to itsinclination during its movements between work receiving and workpresenting positions.

23. In a machine for operating upon hides, skins, and pieces of leather,a rotary cylinder for operating on a piece of work, a bed roll forbacking the piece of work against the thrust of the rotary member, and afeeding-in table associated with the bed roll, said feeding-in tablehaving a broad and nearly fiat work-supporting surface below thework-supporting surface of the bed roll and at an inclination to a planepassing vertically through the axis of the bed roll, said surface beingconvexly curved in the direction of the length of the bed roll, wherebypieces of work drawn over the relatively broad work-supporting JOHN H.CONNOR.

